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okay... well i have this 04 civic ex with the works, everything has been fine for the past few yrs but finally encountering my first couple of problems, and its hard finding people who have the 04 ex turbocharged too. im pretty sure i have a boost leak but other then that every now and then white smoke comes out from the exhaust when i start it and sometimes the first couple of minutes. then it goes away. the worse problem i have is my car overheats to the hottest. like the needle cant go any further. i know that usually raises a red flag instantly and u shouldnt be driving the car. but its been like this for months now and my car keeps running fine. i dont know if i have like a reenforced head gasket or something cause the car still pushes. and i dont think its a faulty thermostat either only cause my car really does run hot to the point my coolant boils, but still my car runs fine. any ideas anyone?? and how do i post pics or vids?

 
Rep Power: 379

Well the whie smoke means you probably have a blown head gasket, which happens to a good number of boosted cars.

And if you are runnign that hot, to the fact that your coolent boils maybe take a look at your water pump because its really not supposed to do that.

And when you say you think yo uhave a boost leak what really does that mean? What causes you to think that?

I'd say get your car fixed before you do any driving at all.

 
Rep Power: 0

how can ur car be running fine if its overheating. If ur car overheats and u see the needle pinned then u need to have a mechanic look at it. several reasons ur car can overheat are clogged radiator, faulty thermostat, faulty radiator cap, faulty water pump, not enough fluid, blown head gasket and so on. the worst thing u could do is to jus keep driving it. ur jus making the problem worse. like Aj said white smoke generally means blown headgasket. boost leak is the least of ur problems. get it looked at right away before u blow it.

 
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hey,
yeah, did some more research and i definitely have a cracked head gasket and i dont know how my car keeps running, i can post a vid on youtube or something but its been doing this for about 6 months now and the white smoke just started about two months ago. i'm having it fixed asap but does anyone know if a reenforced or performance head gasket really makes a difference? and would a turbo wrap/shield help?

 
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oh and the boost leak? i finally got my gauges install and i know when im idling i should be a -20 or less, every now and then its like at 10 or 5 and its like the car is about to turn off but then goes back to normal after a few seconds. not only that i just dont feel my turbo doesnt kick in as nice as it use to. like its lacking power, im sure the overheating and gasket is a factor but i didnt know what else... i'll post some pics soon....

 
Rep Power: 231

i had the same over heating problem. i had air in my coolant line. when the car is cold add coolant and squeeze the air out of the top tube. now i dont think ur head gasket is blown, but ur seals in the turbo could be. i have a friend with a wrx and his smoked real bad white smoke and it was his turbo seals.

 
Rep Power: 0

Blown head gasket, period. Pull the head, take it to a machine shop to make sure it isn't warped. Buy some ARP head studs (the ones for the Honda D16Z6 fit the D17) and a new OEM head gasket. Torque the studs to 80 ft./lbs and you won't have any more head gasket problems.

 
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i agree with him

 
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thanks, i';ll have another post with the results soon!!